One more reason to despise Jimmy Carter

James Kirchik, writing in the Weekly Standard, reminds us of another foreign policy disaster, initiated by Jimmy Carter, with long-running horrendous consequences for the people forced to live under the rule of another leftist strongman Carter helped usher into power: Robert Mugabe.

The story is somewhat complex, but when Rhodesia (the country today called Zimbabwe and ruled by Mugabe) declared independence from the British empire with a white-controlled regime, it became an instant pariah, worldwide. After enormous pressure was brought to bear, a black-majority elected government, under Methodist bishop Abel Muzorewa took office with 2/3 of the vote.

But because Muzorewa was a moderate, eschewing violence, he was denounced as a stooge and patronized by the Carter Administration. Carter's point man Andrew Young was particularly harsh, while tending to see violent Marxist revolutionaries through rose-tinted lenses. The Marxist opponents were explicit:

Mugabe and Nkomo made it clear that their Patriotic Front would not give up the fight and participate in elections unless they were assured of victory. In so doing, the guerrilla leaders removed any doubt that they had no interest in democracy. [....]

Muzorewa--spurned by the West, deemed illegitimate by the African dictatorships, and forced to contend with Communist-armed insurgents--would hold power for a mere matter of months. The betrayal of Muzorewa is one of the more craven episodes in American foreign policy.

Read the article for the details of Carter's betrayal. Mugabe is one of the worst tyrants on earth, and his people are starving ina former breadbasket country, as a result of the havoc Mugabe has wrought.

James Kirchik, writing in the Weekly Standard, reminds us of another foreign policy disaster, initiated by Jimmy Carter, with long-running horrendous consequences for the people forced to live under the rule of another leftist strongman Carter helped usher into power: Robert Mugabe.

The story is somewhat complex, but when Rhodesia (the country today called Zimbabwe and ruled by Mugabe) declared independence from the British empire with a white-controlled regime, it became an instant pariah, worldwide. After enormous pressure was brought to bear, a black-majority elected government, under Methodist bishop Abel Muzorewa took office with 2/3 of the vote.

But because Muzorewa was a moderate, eschewing violence, he was denounced as a stooge and patronized by the Carter Administration. Carter's point man Andrew Young was particularly harsh, while tending to see violent Marxist revolutionaries through rose-tinted lenses. The Marxist opponents were explicit:

Mugabe and Nkomo made it clear that their Patriotic Front would not give up the fight and participate in elections unless they were assured of victory. In so doing, the guerrilla leaders removed any doubt that they had no interest in democracy. [....]

Muzorewa--spurned by the West, deemed illegitimate by the African dictatorships, and forced to contend with Communist-armed insurgents--would hold power for a mere matter of months. The betrayal of Muzorewa is one of the more craven episodes in American foreign policy.

Read the article for the details of Carter's betrayal. Mugabe is one of the worst tyrants on earth, and his people are starving ina former breadbasket country, as a result of the havoc Mugabe has wrought.